The Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars Touch Down in SoCal

So far this week on the VOW All-Stars tour, we introduced the patrons of Anthology to the consummate Louisiana supergroup and rocked the audience hard at Saint Rocke. Both the San Diego and Hermosa Beach shows sold out, with huge numbers turning out to see Tab Benoit and company.

I joined up with the group in California to represent Global Green and help get out the wetlands message. Serving as the merch guy/donation master, I’ve handed people CDs, t-shirts, and empowering information.

Tab has a powerful message that motivates his audience to action, and Global Green can help facilitate that action. One thing that really struck me was how much the audience pays attention to Tab when he speaks, and how riled up they get about the injustices he speaks about. He really pushes the idea that our elected officials work for us, and that if we want to save our wetlands, we have to demand it from them. Not just with letters, or e-mails, or petitions, but with phone conversations and putting bodies in the room.

“We have an open-door policy in this country. The door is open, you just got to walk through it,” he says. And while we do have an advocacy e-mail for elected leaders to accompany this tour, asking them to support the Oil Spill Commission’s recommendations, what Tab says still holds true. Our leaders work for us, and if we want to save our land, our livelihoods, and our culture, we have to remind them of that.

But this tour isn’t just about the serious stuff. We have a lot of fun too. Between listening to Johnny Vidacovich talk about his favorite Italian restaurant and lamenting the state of popular music with Anders Osborne, the road life isn’t so bad.

Tonight’s show is at The Mint in West Hollywood, at 9:30, doors at 7:30. From there, it’s on to Moe’s Alley in Santa Cruz. I’ll be sure to keep you updated, with more photos and hopefully some video soon.

Meanwhile, if you can’t make it to any of the Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars shows, you can still support our efforts to save Louisiana’s wetlands. Text GREEN to 85944 to donate $10.